Gabby Blossom Earns Eighth Big Ten Setter Of The Week Honors

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball senior Gabby Blossom took home her eighth Big Ten Setter of the Week honors after leading the Nittany Lions to road wins over Michigan and Michigan State.

Blossom tallied 55 assists and seven digs in a 3-1 win over the Wolverines Friday in Ann Arbor, then followed that up with 53 assists and 18 digs — her 14th double-double of the season — in a 3-1 win over the Spartans the next night in East Lansing.

It’s the fourth time this season that the St. Louis, Missouri, native has been named the conference’s top setter, tying Wisconsin’s Sydney Hilley for the most in the Big Ten so far this fall. Blossom sits at 3,035 career assists heading into Penn State’s away match against Nebraska Friday in Lincoln.

Blossom, a three-time captain alongside classmate Jonni Parker, is playing extremely well of late with 50-plus assists in each of her last five matches. Blossom is well on her way to being named an AVCA All-American again after previously landing on the third team as a sophomore in 2019 following her first season as a starter.

Blossom was joined by Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez and Purdue’s Caitlyn Newton and Raven Colvin as last week’s Big Ten honorees. Blossom, Parker, and senior libero Jenna Hampton are the only Nittany Lions to receive conference recognition so far this season.

Russ Rose discussed Blossom and Hampton’s strong play during his Tuesday press conference last week after the duo led the Nittany Lions to home victories over the Michigan schools. They garnered Big Ten weekly awards in the process.

β€œI think there’s always a correlation between how one can impact the other,” Rose said. “When Jenna plays well, it enables Gabby to have more options to do what we would like her to be able to do.”

Blossom is second on the team in digs (288) and service aces (23), trailing only Hampton and sophomore middle blocker Allie Holland in those categories, respectively. Earlier this season, Blossom highlighted how playing for Penn State volleyball has positively impacted her college experience.

“I think it’s so hard to describe, because we’re so lucky with how much we’re given just being a student-athlete at Penn State,” Blossom said. “The experiences, the life opportunities, the friendships, and all the values and lessons you learn along the way are just so special and make Penn State the coolest place in the world.”